Plan Your Perennial Garden Now and Designing Plot Plans

Reader Contribution by Jean Smith From The Garden Gate Farm
Published on February 17, 2013
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“If ever I loved thee, my garden ’tis now…” Yes, I am longing for the beauty and relaxation of my gardens in these cold Michigan winter months. The garden is my place of rest… it’s where I go when I feel weary, when I need to wind down, when I long to escape the stresses of life… It is my Eden here on earth. Many people have strolled through my gardens in awe wondering when and how I manage to care for them all with my busy farm and market life. I always say, “This is not work! This is where I come to get away from the work!”  But alas, that is not true for all.  If you are a die hard gardener or someone looking to create your own little Eden, it doesn’t have to be difficult and it surely won’t happen all in one season. My gardens have been born over a period of seven years and they will continue to grow, change and flourish in my tender loving care for many more.  Now is the time to start planning and designing your new dream gardens. You may feel like how do I begin? What plants should I choose? Where am I going to put this bed?  The next couple months will give you ample time to decide on what, where, how and when and whether to order plants or wait for the nurseries. These are all important questions that need to be addressed before the big day of breaking ground. That day is right around the corner…don’t let your dreams sit stagnant and lifeless, start planning now.

In the next few posts here I am planning on giving my own ‘renditions’ of my garden’s. I will show all the photo’s of them at my blog spot.  Hope you are inspired, enjoy friends!

There are several factors to take into consideration when you start the process of designing your garden plots.
1. Decide on Location: This is the first step. It will determine what type of plants you will purchase, whether irrigation will be necessary and if so, what type.  Will it be up against a building? In the middle of the yard? An extension of an existing garden?
2. Type of Garden: Do you want a perennial bed/border with a few annuals as fillers? Is this a small bed that you would like to plant up with annuals each year to have it different and versatile? Is it to be a split of both annuals and perennials?
Will it be a formal garden, herb garden, rose garden or kitchen garden?  These are all important factors that need to be made early on.
3. Plant Selection: Once location and type are determined you can start choosing the plants. Take into consideration if this is a shady, part shade/ part sun or direct sun all day location.  This will play a huge factor on plants. Decide whether you will order some and/or purchase at nurseries. What about getting started with plants from family and friends when they split their plants this spring?
For an extensive list of perennials follow this link: http://www.gardenguides.com/perennial-plants-flowers/
4. Architectural Elements: This is very important, but type of garden will determine what those elements will be. My gardens are Cottage Style, so I get to use all kinds of what I feel are cool Garden Junque items! Stone statuary, bird baths, arbors/trellis’, iron work, picket fences, wheel barrow, crates/drawers, buckets and boots… and the list can go on! Determining what you like can help in choosing the type of garden. Will you have walk ways? If so, what will be the stepping stones?
5. Irrigation: will you use sprinklers/hoses, underground sprinkler systems, above ground drip lines, soaker hoses?
6. Mulching: is so important! Mulch will help maintain moisture and hold back weeds. Again what you choose should fit with your garden style.  Mulch- what color, lava rock, white marble stones, bark, etc.

Documentation is a key element in helping you along the garden design path. I highly recommend that you Keep a Garden Journalfor specific notes on what was planted where, where the plant was purchased, and any other important details.
1. Draw your Garden Plan layouts (see mine attached). This will give you something to work off. It may change from the original design, but having a place to start is so helpful. 
2. Keep alltags and receipts from plants that have a warranty in your journal. This is especially important for large, expensive items such as trees, shrub’s/bushes and fruit bearing plants. It is very frustrating when you loose a year of growth when a plant doesn’t make it through the winter. But if you have that receipt, at least you won’t have to ‘buy’ another one!
3.Photograph your gardens. I suggest doing this in the early and late parts of each season (spring-fall). Each year you will have a wonderful and accurate account of how things grew.  If you really liked a particular planting or arrangement you created with annuals, be sure to include the tags with a photo of the bed, along with where you purchased the plants. It is very difficult to remember the varieties and where you got them. Not all nurseries/catalog’s carry the same items. 
4. Keep Ideas: I often see planting designs and architectural items in other gardens that I would like to replicate in my own. I take photo’s to put in my journal otherwise I would never remember everything. I also photocopy ideas out of gardening mag.’s and store them there as well- I don’t like to rip pages out!

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